Homily – An enduring faith. – May 11th, 2019
In the Epistle reading for today, Saint Peter writes of struggle, specifically here to that of servants under their masters. He exhorts them to be mindful of God in their suffering, and endure just as Christ endured. Indeed it is a gracious thing to be mindful of God when we suffer diverse sorrows, trials, and afflictions all for the sake of our faith. Yet, it is equally gracious for those of us who suffer likewise and simply endure because of our faith. For our faith is one of endurance, as Paul writes, stating that when we endure our sufferings for doing good, it is gracious in the sight of God. We are reminded elsewhere by James as to why we do so, writing in his Epistle that the crown of everlasting life is promised to those who love him who persevere in their faith. Though, it is not suffering to which we are called, for suffering in and of itself is not a good thing; but, the fruits of our suffering are what separate us from the world. In it we are tempered like steel against the anvil, and purified like a precious metal in the refiner’s fire. Our faith is a journey of purifying transformation.
Anyone who believes, or anyone who tells you that the Orthodox Christian faith is easy, anyone who says that a life lived in the shadow of the cross is comfortable, such a person is misguided. According to Saint Theophan the recluse, “All the saints accept the only true path to virtue to be pain and hard work… lightness and ease are a sign of a false path. Anyone who is not struggling, not in podvig, is in spiritual delusion” Podvig, a Russian word understood to mean “spiritual struggle,” is often used to describe our faith, for our faith is one of struggle. Our faith is a continual struggle against ourselves, against the passions of the flesh that persist against us daily. Our struggle is against the ailments of our minds and bodies in day to day life. Also, our struggle is against the world, against daily misfortunes, against people and their wills, against a symphony of noise wholly aligned against the silence of God. Nowhere in the whole of scripture was it ever lauded that our walk of faith would be easy. To say as much is a lie propagated by those false teachers and preachers of the prosperity Gospel, men and women who say that health, wealth and prosperity can be ours in this life through Christ.
Christ left everything behind in the performance of his ministry, and told others that did likewise, “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” The Apostles lived austere lives, and all were martyred for their faith. The brightest lights of the Orthodox faith were the ones who sacrificed the most in the name of Christ, those who sacrificed of body, of ambition, of needs, of wealth and every worldly thing. Often when the world is at its darkest moments, the brightest lights shine through to dispel the shadows, such as those great Russian saints in Soviet Russia whom we venerate today. They have shown us that our way is not of this world, and have revealed that the greater our attachments to the things of this world, to the ambition and desires of self, the greater the sorrows of our struggle will be. The manner in which we respond to that struggle and suffering is a good barometer of our faith, and how close indeed we are to Christ in our lifelong pursuit of purification, and theotic illumination. Suffering and struggle proves the purity of the faith possessed of the faithful. It is a pure soul that meets hatred with love, injury with kindness, violence with peace, slander with silence, and insults with a smile.
How did the saints respond to their struggles within their own enduring faith? The Church recalls the response of Saint Lawrence, who was essentially grilled alive on a great gridiron over hot coals, entreated his torturers “I’m well done on this side. Turn me over!” The desert father Saint Macarius came across someone robbing his cell, so helped him load his beast of burden with his own possessions and sent him on his way, recalling to himself that “We brought nothing into this world but the Lord gave, as he willed, so it is done: blessed be the Lord in all things.” One Saint was threatened with death, and replied, “Ok, and then what will you do to me?” Abba Anthony says of those not able to bear insults, “You are like a village magnificently decorated on the outside but destroyed from within by robbers.” So it goes, on and on with examples from the hagiography of the Church. The more we are attached to the things and matters of this world, the easier sorrows find our soul.
Indeed, there are those who are murdered for their faith, their light extinguished by the very darkness they sought to enlighten, but I say they have it easy. Though they have made the ultimate and final sacrifice for their faith, they had but one choice to make. They can choose to live, clinging to the dead promises of this world, or they can choose life in Christ, and their struggle is over. They will are wreathed in the crowns of martyrdom. Though, this is not a common circumstance for most, as few will be forced to make such a sacrifice living in the relative comfort of their home.
Christ is the way, the truth, and the Life.. His is the way because He is risen, enduring the death of the cross for all men, to open the gates of paradise. He is life because He is risen, trampling down death by death! He is Risen because He is God incarnate in the flesh, he who condescended to become one of us, that we may be able to become like him. Though, while He is Risen do not forget that we are still fallen. He is Risen, but we will only rise with him through the patient and enduring struggle of our faith. Ours is a faith of action, a spiritual life that lives in friction against the world. It is in this friction, this very day to day struggle that we truly come to know ourselves and the depths of our own faith..
Ours is a vigilant faith. Ours is an enduring faith. When the darkness comes, we patiently wait for the coming dawn. When sadness finds us, we wait till joy finds us again. When chaos crashes around us, we await for the peace that the world cannot give. When the rain falls, we remember that the Lord is merciful, the Lord is just, and he rains on both the just and the unjust. Where the rain falls, the sun shines likewise, so while we recognize and remember that all things come from God, we also accept that these are not the measures of our spiritual life. Each is a test of our faith, good and bad, our struggles and successes, and each brings a suffering of its own. For we indeed were exhorted to carry our crosses daily. If Christ can carry his cross, even falling three times, on his miserable sojourn to his own death, then surely we can endure our own crosses, carrying them as we march to our eternal life.
So, as we distance ourselves from the end of Great Lent, let us not forget the gains we have made from our own struggles of faith, the ascetic practices undertaken and with which we sever our attachments to the things of this world. Such practices are our spiritual struggle through which we build up our faith and strength of spirit. Our struggles with the things of this world are the means by which that faith is tested, and in the perseverance of an enduring faith made even stronger. However, if you find yourself feeling as though you missed out, as though you failed in prayer, repentance, fasting, or any number of spiritual exercises for the building of our faith, then fear not. Great Lent will come again, and we will be reminded once again that He is risen! For, indeed our faith is an enduring faith, a journey of struggle and growth through which we grow into Christ. Even though Great Lent is behind us, our life in this world is still standing before us, so we must keep watch just as Saint John of Kronstadt exhorts us:
“Every day, hour, and minute, keep a strict watch and consider every thought, desire, and movement of the heart, every word and deed, and do not let yourself be defiled by one sinful thought, desire, or movement of the imagination, in word or deed, knowing that the Lord is the Righteous Judge Who is judging you every instant and is evaluating the inner man. Continually keep yourself pure for God.”
Faith is life. Faith is continual. Faith is enduring. Faith finds growth through struggle. We have faith because – He is risen! He is risen! He is risen! May we all live to rise with him.
Amen.
